You Never Know
by LvnderDolphn
Summary: Trory. “Oh,” Alexa said disappointedly, but then looked at Tristan with a gleam in her eye. “I like her,” she said softly. Tristan had the same gleam in his eye as he said, “I do too.”
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or anything to do with Gilmore Girls.

Author's note: Hey everyone. I started reading Gilmore Girls fanfics a few months ago and I've had this idea in my head for a while now. This is my first Gilmore Girls Fanfic and I hope you all like it.

Background: This is a Trory fanfic. It goes all the way back to the beginning... At least it almost does. It is Rory's first day at Chilton.

**You Never Know**

Rory Gilmore ran around her room gathering everything that she needed to take to school with her. She suddenly realized that she had not heard her mother since she had first woken her up. "Mom!" She yelled up the stairs, "Did you get up?"

Lorelai Gilmore rolled over in bed. Something had woken her up abruptly, but she wasn't sure what it was. "MOM!" She heard coming from far away. 'Now why would Rory want to wake me up so early? She knows I like to sleep in.' She gradually began to remember that she had been woken up once already, but she still could not remember why. Then, all of a sudden, she realized it was her daughter's first day at Chilton. Lorelai jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs as quickly as she could.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I completely forgot."

"We have to leave now, mom," Rory said as she looked at her mother. "What are you wearing?"

"My pajamas. I just woke up," Lorelai responded with a sheepish smile.

"Mom!" Rory scolded, "We have to leave right now. I'm gonna be late. You cannot show up late to class at a school like Chilton. Especially not on the first day. First impressions mean everything."

"Ok, not to worry. I'll wear this. It's not like anyone will see me or anything. I just need to stop by Luke's and grab some coffee first."

"Oh, I know. I was including that in the time it would take to get to Chilton. Let's go!"

With that, the girls ran out of the house, slamming the door and locking it as they went.

"Nice outfit," Luke called to Lorelai as she walked through the door to Luke's Diner.

"Thanks. Coffee?"

"It'll kill ya."

"Yep.. Something always will. Might as well be coffee."

"As long as you're okay with it."

"I am. Now pour me some. Rory too. It's a big day."

For the first time that day, Luke turned to look at the younger Gilmore. "Your first day's already here? I can't believe it. What do you want for breakfast?"

"No breakfast," Rory said hurriedly. "Just coffee to go. We're already late. Mom slept in a little."

"How about just a muffin to go then," Luke said while pouring coffee into a large Styrofoam cup. "My treat. No arguing. It's your first day and you'll need it to keep you going."

"Of course. With all that death wish coffee he just gave you, you'll certainly need it," Lorelai said to Rory.

Luke handed the Gilmore's two large coffees and two chocolate chip muffins. "Here, just go. You make me tired just by talking."

"Ooh, coffee helps with that." Lorelai joked.

"GO!" was the reply she heard from Luke as she left the diner.

Lorelai pulled up to Chilton to let Rory out near the door. "Have a wonderful day Rory. And don't think too hard. It's just high school."

"Right mom," Rory said as she walked up to the driver's side window. "Just high school. This school will determine whether or not I get into Harvard. Thanks for the ride." Rory kissed her mom on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too." Lorelai called while she waved to a retreating Rory, which caused a problem since she had her keys in her hand. The keys dropped on the cement as Rory walked through the doors leading to her future, leaving only Lorelai to retrieve them. "Great," she muttered to herself as she opened the car door. As she bent down to pick up the keys she was greeted with another hand. Lorelai stood up slowly to be greeted by her mother.

"Dear God Loralei. What on earth are you wearing? How could you leave your house in this horrific outfit."

"Good morning to you too mother. What are you doing here?"

"I thought I should be here for Rory on her first day. Apparently I was right to come. She must be so embarrassed."

"Mother, do not go in to see Rory. This is high school. She doesn't need her grandmother checking up on her. And I am wearing this because I had a little teensy problem waking up."

"Oh, that's just terrific Lorelai. You forgot the most important day of your daughter's life to date. I'm going in to see her."

"I will physically stop you from entering those doors if I have to. Classes will start in a few minutes anyway. You wouldn't want Rory to be late would you? First impressions mean everything," Lorelai repeated what her daughter had said earlier that morning. This seemed to appease Emily Gilmore who began to calm down.

"Fine Lorelai, but I expect to see both you and Rory this Friday evening. And dress appropriately, please."

Rory ran to her first class so that she wouldn't be late. To Rory Gilmore, even on time was late. When she got to the classroom, it was still only half full. Rory picked a desk near the front of the classroom, took out a book, and began to read. She became so enthralled in the words on the pages that she didn't even notice that the room was filling up. Beside her a girl with long blonde hair sat down and began to unload her unusually full backpack. She began with a spiral notebook that said English on the front of it, and then she pulled out two pencils, a blue pen, and a black pen. When she was finished, she looked over to Rory. Immediately, the girl felt threatened; it's not every day you see a teenager reading a large book voluntarily, let alone one by someone like Leo Tolstoy.

"Paris Gellar," the girl said to Rory, assuming that she would know she was being talked to. Rory was too involved in her book to realize that the words were directed to her. Paris tapped Rory's arm in order to get her attention then extended her hand. "Paris Gellar," she repeated.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Rory Gilmore. I'm," but Rory was interrupted before she could finish.

"We're graded on a curve here. Don't expect to get an A.. In any class you have with me." With that Paris turned to face the front of the classroom as the teacher walked in.

"Good morning everyone. Welcome back to Chilton. For those of you who have never had a class with me before, my name is Kyle Towers. That would be Mr. Towers to all of you. This class is not something you will breeze though. I hope you're all ready. Now, here is your first assignment," Mr. Towers said as he passed out a stack of papers to the class. "You will be reading_ The Secret History_ by Donna Tartt with a 10 page paper due when you finish. The guidelines and topics to choose from are on the piece of paper you just received. Any question?"

Rory sat dumbfounded. She had expected Chilton to be tougher than Star's Hollow High, but a ten-page paper on the first day in the first class of that day? Rory looked around the room. A few people were groaning, but no one seemed shocked with the assignment.

"Okay, if there are no questions, we can move on to what I expect from each of you this year. There will be no cheating in my class. If you plagiarize, I will know. If you are late, don't bother to come to class. I do not like to," The door suddenly opened and a very handsome, very smug, looking blonde guy walked into the room.

"Sorry, Mr. Towers. The ladies, you know?"

"You've been in my class before, Mr. Dugray. You know that I will not tolerate tardiness. Now find a seat and don't interrupt my class again." Much to Rory's dismay, the smart-mouth with "the ladies" sat down right behind her.

"Hey, name's Tristan,"he said to Rory with a wink as he looked her up and down, noticeably, to which she greeted him with a horrified look and turned her attention to the teacher.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Towers began to hand out envelopes to each student. "These contain you locker numbers and combinations. As you all leave, pick up a copy of _The Secret History_ and write down the number of the book beside your name on the sheet of paper I have on the wall by the door. You may go."

Rory walked through the halls in search of locker number 1284. She finally stumbled upon numbers that were in the 12oo range. Rory took her eyes off of the numbers and looked down the hall. She was shocked to see Tristan making out with a longhaired, size 2, brunette. To Rory's dismay they were right in front of her locker. "Excuse me," Rory said softly, not sure what she was supposed to do. Tristan opened one eye and looked at her. "Why hello, are we entertaining enough for you?" He asked with a smirk.

Rory blushed slightly. "You're in front of my locker."

"Sorry Mary."

"Oh, my name's Rory."

Tristan nodded, grabbed the brunette's hand and walked past Rory. "Bye Mary."

"Rory," she muttered to herself, as she opened her locker.

After lunch, Rory was already exhausted. She already had a ten-page paper , 50 trigonometry equations, and at least fifty pages to read from her other classes. Rory looked down at her schedule to find out where her next class was. Rory walked into the classroom for her German course. She sat down near the front of the classroom again. The teacher was already sitting at her desk. As Rory waited for class to begin, Tristan sauntered through the door. Rory groaned inwardly when she saw him walking towards her.

"Well well, Mary. Good to see you."

"It's Rory."

"Yeah, I like Mary better."

"That's nice, but I like Rory."

Tristan glanced over at the teacher, who had gotten up from her chair and was signaling him. "Well, Mary, sorry to cut this short, but I'm being called." With that Tristan turned his back and walked to the front of the room, where he took a seat at the teacher's desk. 'Why on earth is he sitting up there?' Rory asked herself.

"Good afternoon class. I am Ms. Ricottilli and I will be teaching you German one. At my desk is my teacher's assistant Tristan Dugray. He is here to help me grade papers and work with you on a one on one basis. Please feel free to come to either one of us when you need help. Now, you will each receive a textbook and a workbook. Each week you will be required to turn in five pages of your workbook. Later in the year, you will be writing a paragraph about your week in German." Ms. Ricottilli looked at Tristan, "Would you please hand out the books for me?"

As Tristan handed out the books, he purposefully brushed Rory's hand. He could already tell that she was going to be a challenge and that made him very interested in her. Girls usually fell at Tristan's feet, so he always loved it when he actually had to win them over. Tristan also liked to play mind games, and he could see it was working on Rory when she blushed.

Rory could already tell that Tristan was going to cause her trouble. He was full of himself and it appeared that he had decided to make her time at Chilton extremely frustrating.

A.N. I hope you all like this story. Like any normal person, I will be motivated by reviews. And I welcome constructive criticism.


	2. Help!

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Gilmore Girls.

Rory walked into the Inn in search of her mother. "Hi Michel. Have you seen my mom?" 

Michel looked up appearing annoyed and said, "What do I look like? Her watch dog? She could be anywhere."

"Okay," Rory said, "thanks anyway." Rory decided to go into the kitchen, where she would get more help and maybe some cookies.

"Rory!" Sookie yelled. "I need you to taste this pie for me."

'Pie will do,' Rory thought to herself. "Yumm," she said to Sookie after she bit into the peach pie. "There's something in this that I can't put my finger on. What is it?"

"Well if I told you that, I'd have to kill you." Sookie said as Rory continued to look at her expectantly. "No really, it's a secret. My grandmother used to make her fruit pies the same way."

"Well it tastes amazing."

Lorelai then walked into the kitchen then and raced to her daughter's side. "Oh sweet daughter of mine. How was your first day of school?"

"Oh, it was okay."

Lorelai looked a Sookie and the two spoke with their eyes. "Rory, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Okay? What about wonderful, fantastic, mind-blowing? But okay? That doesn't sound right, so what's wrong with Chilton?"

"There's just so much more work than I expected. I knew it would be hard, but I'm not sure if I can handle this."

"Ror, you don't get this upset about being given a challenging homework schedule. So tell me the truth."

Rory sighed. Sometimes she hated that she and her mother knew everything about her. "It's the people. They just aren't as friendly as everyone here. One guy in particular has already made it clear that he intends to make this year a living hell for me."

"What did he do? I'll kill him."

"He kept making stupid comments and he would touch me."

"Where?"

"What?" 

"Where did he touch you."

"Oh, on the hand."

"Rory?" Sookie stepped in.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not sure, but I believe they call that flirting."

"No, this is different. He wants me to be uncomfortable." Listen, I need to go get started on my homework. I'll see you at home later, mom. Bye Sookie."

"Bye," Sookie and Lorelai called together.

* * *

Later that week on Friday evening Rory yelled, "mom come on. We have to leave now."

"But I don't want to."

"We can't be late for dinner mom."

"Let's just call and say that we got food poisoning and now we're dying."

"Right. Mom, you promised grandma and grandpa that we would have dinner every Friday. I guess I'll just have to quit school if you really don't want to go."

"Oh, fine, party pooper," Lorelai grabbed Rory's hand and walked to her car, "let's go."

* * *

Weeks later, Rory was having trouble understanding German. 'Why didn't I just take French? I already know French.' Rory slammed her book shut in study hall, because she had become too discouraged.

"Something wrong Mary?"

"Rory."

Tristan finally gave in, "What's wrong, Rory?"

Rory looked up at him curiously, contemplating whether or not to ask for help. "I just don't understand this German. I have never not gotten something. I have studied and studied, but it just doesn't make sense."

"I can help you with that. I'm fluent in German. Hence my being the teacher's assistant. I don't have time during school, but you can come to my house a couple days a week," Tristan said seriously, but then threw in, "I know you would like that, wouldn't you Mary?"

"No thanks, Tristan, I'll do it on my own." And with that Rory gathered her things and started to go to lunch.

* * *

"Rory, maybe you _should _get a tutor. I hate seeing you so aggravated with yourself. It doesn't have to be Tristan. " Lorelai said to her daughter after she heard what had happened during school.

"No one else has the time. I've already asked the best students."

"Is this guy really that bad?"

Rory sighed, "Yes, but I think I'm just gonna have to deal with it. I just can't get this. Mom, I've never not understood something. I hate it."

Lorelai laughed. "Rory, you can't be perfect at everything. Give yourself a break."

"Thanks mom, I guess I should go call Tristan now and get it over with. At least then I won't have to see his stupid smirk."

"Hello?" A young girl answered the phone.

"Um, hi, may I speak to Tristan, please?"

"Tristan," she heard the girl yell, "It's another one of your girlfriends.

"Hey," Tristan said in a husky voice.

"Tristan?"

"Yeah, who's this?" Tristan asked realizing he didn't recognize the voice.

"Um, it's Rory."

"Rory? I don't think I know anybody named Rory."

Confused for only a second, Rory realized what Tristan was saying. "Ugh, fine, it's Mary!"

"Oh, Mary, can I help you?

"I need you to help me with German."

"Am I hearing things? I thought you just said you need my help."

"Will you help me or not?"

"Sure, tomorrow after school at my house sound good?"

"Yeah, can I have directions to your house?"

"You can follow me."

"Well, actually I won't be driving. I need to tell my mom how to get there." 

"Oh, don't worry. I'll take you home after."

"Oh, no Tristan, there's no need." 

"Don't worry about it Rory. Bye." and with that Tristan hung up the phone.

Rory took a deep breath as she hung up the phone then thought to herself, 'Did he just call me Rory?'

As Tristan hung up his phone he looked at himself in the mirror and saw that he had a genuine smile on his face, and then he thought, 'I just called her Rory,' as the smile fell from his lips.

"Oh My God!"Rory yelled as she realized that her ten-page paper for English was due the next day and she only had two pages written. She stayed up most of the night typing her paper and woke up the next morning exhausted. Rory dreaded the coming day. She got up, dressed slowly, and packed her book bag carefully. After she was finished, she and her mother walked to Luke's Diner and ate breakfast.

"Luke! More coffee! You let my cup go empty."

"So drink slower." Luke yelled from behind the counter. He slowly walked out from behind the counter and made his way to the Gilmore's table. "How many times do I have to tell you this stuff will kill you?"

"However many times it takes you to hear me tell you that everyone has to die sometime. I choose to die from too much coffee. Now pour." Reluctantly, Luke filled Lorelai's mug and began to walk away.

"Not so fast. I need all you've got," Rory called, forcing Luke to turn around and fill her mug as well. "Thank you, Luke." Rory said sweetly as Luke mumbled incoherently. "Oh, and could you bring me a large cup to go. I barely slept last night."

A few minutes later Rory said, "Time for me to go. Wish me luck."

"You sound like you're going to the firing squad instead of school."

"Maybe not a firing squad, but this afternoon could turn into a dual. And I'm not so sure I will win if it does."

"My daughter, the optimist. I taught you well."

Rory laughed for the first time that day. "I gotta go. I don't want to miss the bus."

"Bye, sweets."

* * *

Rory made her way to her locker, and found Tristan waiting for her there. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Now Mary is that any way to greet the guy who is so generously offering you his services?"

Rory finally lost it. She used all the strength she had and pushed him up against her locker. "My name is Rory. NOT MARY. So call me Rory. Got it?"

"Geeze Mar, I didn't know you wanted me that badly."

"Ugh, you're insufferable," Rory said. She walked away without ever getting her books from her locker.

* * *

Rory felt much better after she handed in her English paper. At least there was one less thing to worry about. It was over and done with. Rory decided to find Tristan during study hall and apologize to him. She found him in the back of the library making out with yet another beautiful carbon copy type girl. "May I talk to you?" Rory asked loudly.

"Excuse me." said the girl, "We're a little busy."

Tristan looked at Rory, "You heard the girl, Mar. We're busy. You'll have to wait if you want me. There's a long line."

Rory's jaw tightened at his words. "I just wanted to apologize for this morning. Sorry. Bye now." Through gritted teeth she said, "Have fun."

"Where were we?" said the girl as Rory walked away.

"Actually, I have to go. I'll see ya later Babe."

"Oh, okay, bye Tris" Then she planted a big kiss on his lips. "Come get me anytime you want to do this," she looked around, "again."

Tristan ran to catch up with Rory. "Rory wait." When Rory stopped and turned to him, he said, "Okay, now you can do it right."

"Do what right?"

"Apologize."

Rory threw her hands up and made an irritated sigh. "You egotistical jerk! Do you think the world revolves around you?"

"Pretty much. At least my world does."

"Well mine doesn't. You are so aggravating, infuriating and..."

"Maddening?"

"YES!"

"I turn you on."

"Excuse me?"

"You are full of passion when you yell at me."

"No Tristan, I'm full of anger. I won't be needing you to tutor me. I'd rather get a C than end up in an insane asylum."

"Why not an F?"

"I would do anything, not to get an F." Rory said before she walked away.

"Rory calm down and come back here."

"Oh no, just leave me alone."  
  
"I'm just joking with you. It's all in fun. Now come on. You need my help. You _will _get an F if you don't get it and you know it. It's only the beginning and you're already having trouble. It will only get worse."

"Ugh, fine. I'm just having a bad day, so everything is ten times worse than normal. Don't go thinking you can get to me like this every day."

Tristan smirked and muttered under his breath, "Don't be so sure about that."

* * *

Tristan found Rory at the end of the day, and the two of them headed for his car. Girls who wanted to talk to Tristan constantly stopped them. When they finally made it to Tristan's black jaguar, he surprisingly opened the passenger side door for her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The two rode most of the way to Tristan's house in silence. When they were almost there Tristan said, "My house is pretty big."

"Okay. And?"

"Well, I heard you're on scholarship or something. So I thought I would warn you. You probably haven't been in a house like mine before."

"Oh, right.. Thanks." Rory didn't bother to correct him. She would rather he believed she was on scholarship than that her grandparents paid her tuition. The only reason she put up with Chilton was so she could go to Harvard. She didn't like the life of the rich. She absolutely hated when people at her grandparents house took care of her like she couldn't do things herself. How hard is it to take off your own coat, or get your own ice tea? Besides, most of the people at Chilton were really shallow, and she would rather know which ones really wanted to know her.

"Here we are."

Rory looked up at a beautiful large white house with dark blue, almost black, French doors at the front. "Nice house." She complemented quickly.

"Thanks. Come on, we should get started."

Tristan and Rory walked through the house until they came upon a small den. Rory instantly loved this room. It had warm red walls and two fluffy leather chairs that looked inviting. There was also a cherry wood desk in the corner of the room/ Rory walked toward the desk, but Tristan stopped her.

"No, sit in the chair over here." He pointed to one of the leather chairs. "You won't need to write anything, might as well be comfortable."

Rory looked back and forth from the cozy chair to the desk chair and finally decided to take Tristan's "suggestion".

"Tristan!" A little girl who couldn't be older than five yelled. She ran into the den and jumped into Tristan's arms. The little girl had lighter hair than Tristan's and it curled all the way to its roots. Her eyes were also slightly lighter than Tristan's. They were like Crystals shining in the ocean. Rory could tell immediately that she was related to Tristan.

"Hi there Alexa. How was your day?" Tristan said, paying extra attention to the little girl.

"It was great. We went to the park and I got to play on the swings."

"Wow. Why didn't you invite me?"

"It was for school silly." Alexa giggled at Tristan then looked around the room. "Who's she?" she asked looking at Rory.

"Alexa, this is Rory. Rory this is my little sister Alexa."

"Hi there." Rory said awkwardly.

"Hi." She said to Rory then turned to Tristan and whispered into his ear quietly, "She's not like the others."

Tristan smiled and whispered back, "No, she's not." Then he stood up and said, "Alexa, Rory and I need to study for a while. How about you go find Teresa and ask her to play with you?"

"Will you come see me later?" 

"Of course."

When Alexa had left the room, Rory said, "She's precious."

"Yeah, I know. Let's get started." Rory thought to herself that Tristan was just as stuck up when it came to his sister...but somehow it was different. More like prideful than egotistical. She was actually impressed.

Tristan noticed Rory staring at him and quickly snapped her back to reality. "Wow Mar, I didn't know all I had to do was act nice to a kid to get you to admit to yourself that you're madly in love with me."  
  
"God Tristan, can't you be sincere for more than five minutes at a time?"

"No, it gives me hives...that's not very appealing to the ladies."

"Oh, right, of course. Let's just get to the studying."

After they were situated, Tristan began his lesson. "Let's start with vocabulary." Tristan pointed to various objects while Rory struggled to remember their German counterpart.

When Rory began to identify the objects correctly, they worked on pronunciation. After an hour of studying, they decided to take a break.


	3. Surprises with Blocks

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Gilmore Girls.

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing. It's a great motivator, and I really appreciate your input.

**Surprises with Blocks**

At seven o'clock that evening, Tristan suggested that it was time to finish up.

"You're doing a lot better. I think we can wrap it up for today. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go." Rory said.

"Just let me say good night to Alexa. She'll be asleep by the time I get home."

Tristan slowly opened the door to his sister's playroom to find Alexa playing with building blocks. When he saw that she had her back to him, he lightly tapped her on the back to scare her. Like Tristan expected, his little sister screamed, but when she saw that it was just her brother, she jumped into his awaiting arms and hit his shoulder. "Why did you do that?"

When Rory heard the scream, she started up the stairs to make sure everything was all right.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Rory heard as she came close to the room Tristan was in. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"I wish you could have played with me. Will you now?"

"I would, but I have to take Rory home."

"How about when you get home?"

"I don't think so. It's almost time for you to go to bed."

"Oh," Alexa said disappointedly, but then looked at Tristan with a gleam in her eye. "I like her," she said softly.

Tristan had the same gleam in his eye as he said, "I do too."

Rory stood in the hallway holding her breath after she heard Tristan and Alexa. 'You have to move now,' she said to herself, but instead of going downstairs, she walked into the playroom. The two siblings looked up at her with shock in their eyes. Rory pretended that she hadn't heard their conversation. "I'm sorry. It was just taking longer than I expected. I thought I would come and see what you were doing." Rory looked at Alexa's blocks. "Can I play?" she asked.

"Really?" asked Alexa, surprised.

"Yeah, I love building things. And of course, knocking them down is fun too."

Alexa giggled and turned to Tristan, "Will you play too?"

"Of course I will," and with that, Tristan dropped heavily onto the blue-carpeted floor. The three began to build a tall building then made a town rise up around it, Rory and Tristan stealing glances at each other the whole time.

When they were finished building a small city, the three of them stood to look at their work. Alexa, Tristan, and Rory glanced at each other, each with a mischievous sparkle in their eyes, and then they all began to knock their city over, laughing the whole time. They were interrupted when Alexa's nanny Teresa entered the room. "Tristan, you know better than to get her excited this close to bedtime," she said strictly.

"I'm sorry Teresa. It's just been so long since I've been able to spend time with her."

Teresa eyed Rory. "Then maybe you should choose her over your girlfriends," she said harshly, but quietly enough for only Tristan to hear.

Tristan's face began to get red with anger. He turned to Rory and said, "Would you mind staying with Alexa for a minute, I need to talk to Teresa."

"Okay. That's fine." Rory said, sensing that Tristan was trying to control his anger. She turned her attention back to Alexa.

* * *

Rory could hear Tristan arguing with the nanny, and she did her best to make sure that Alexa didn't know what was going on. She was thrown off when Alexa asked her, "Are you and Tristan going to become boyfriend and girlfriend."

Rory thought for a few seconds because she didn't want to upset Alexa, "I don't think so. We're just friends."

"If you're friends does that mean that you'll come back and play with me?"

"Of course," Rory said, hoping that she hadn't just lied to the precocious little girl. She felt that she would never be completely sure about anything that had to do with Tristan.

After a few minutes, Tristan and Teresa both came back into the playroom. Tristan picked up his sister and said, "I need to take Rory home, now."

"I want to come."

"I wish you could, but you need to get to sleep. It's getting late for you."

"Oh.." Alexa said sadly, as she hopped down from her brother's arms and ran to Rory to giver her a hug. "Bye, I'll see you soon." Then she walked to Teresa and the two went to get ready for bed.

"Why Mary, does that mean you're coming back?"

"Of course," Rory said, shocking Tristan at first. "I have to get that A in German." Then she walked past him and looked over her shoulder. "Come on, it's late."

* * *

Rory gave Tristan directions to her home as he drove. Tristan slammed on the brakes when Rory yelled out, "Stop!"

"What is it?"

"My mom, she's at Luke's."

"And what? You don't like Luke?"

"No, I love Luke. You can let me out here."

"Okay, I'll walk with you." Tristan said, stepping out of the car.

"Oh, that.."

Rory started to tell him that she didn't need him to walk with her, but he was already by her side, moving towards the diner.

When Luke heard the door to his diner open, he looked up to see Rory enter with a young man. He instantly said "Rory, would you talk some sense into your mother? She seems to think it would be a good idea to climb a mountain." Rory gave him a quizzical look, and he said, "without ropes."

"Mom?"

"What? It sounded fun to me. All sorts of people do it."

"Professionals Lorelai, and most of the time they do use ropes."

"Come on Ror, don't you think it sounds like a good idea. You and I could make it a mother daughter thing. We can camp out and everything once we make it to the top. When should we go?"

"Lorelai, no. You would kill yourself and Rory if you tried it."

"Fine. I won't climb any mountains, but that sure makes giving me coffee sound a lot better, doesn't it?"

Rory laughed, "Good job mom. I actually thought you meant it."

Luke brought Lorelai a cup of coffee, "She certainly is crazy enough to mean something like that." Then he turned to Rory and said, "Do you want anything Ror?"

"I'll take a burger, you want anything Tristan?"

Tristan began to answer, but he was interrupted by an enraged Lorelai, "This is decaf!"

"It's eight o'clock at night. You'll never get to sleep."

"Are you kidding me? I have myself trained. It wakes me up in the morning and puts me to sleep at night. Now get me some regular."

Luke groaned and mumbled, "fine," then looked at Tristan and said, "Sorry, did you want something?"

"I'll have a burger too, thanks."

"All right, two burgers."

Lorelai looked from Rory to Tristan, then said, "Looks like you both survived."

"For now." Rory replied.

"Excuse me?" Tristan asked.

"Oh, nothing. Mom, this is Tristan, Tris, my mom Lorelai."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Gilmore."

"Did you not hear the girl? It's Lorelai. One, I don't like being associated to my mother like that, and two, I'm not married."

Tristan turned to Rory with a raised eyebrow. He had expected her to have two parents and a house with a picket fence. The picture perfect family. Luke appeared with their burgers, and Tristan watched as Rory tore into hers. When she saw him watching she said, "What? I haven't eaten all day." Tristan smirked and began to eat his own food.

When he was finished, Tristan said goodbye and left the Gilmore's to torment Luke.

Rory followed Tristan back outside to thank him for helping her. "Hey Tris?"

Tristan smirked at her shortening his name and looked back in her direction, "Yeah Mar?"

"Rory."

"Tristan."

Rory gave him a quizzical look before realizing that she had even abbreviated his name. "Oh, well, umm, I just wanted to say thanks for everything. You helped me out a lot. And.." Rory knew she was in for a snide remark, so she took a deep breath. "Could we get together again?" 'Bad choice of words Rory," she thought.

"Why Mary, I didn't think you would ever ask." Tristan smirked, "dinner?"

"You know perfectly well what I meant."

"Yeah, well, the rest of my week is full. Monday is usually a bad date night, how about then?"

Rory groaned inwardly, "Yeah, ok. Bye."

* * *

"Do we have to go?"

"Mom! Of course we have to go. We've gone over this before. We promised grandma and grandpa that if they paid for Chilton, we would have dinner with them every Friday night...Don't give me that look. Now come. Let's go!"

Lorelai looked at Rory innocently, "I can't find my keys."

"Then it's a good thing you put me in charge of the spare set. Ready?" Rory asked perkily.

Begrudgingly, Lorelai answered, "Yeah."

* * *

A little while later, Lorelai and Rory were standing in front of Emily Gilmore. "You're late."

"I thought you didn't serve dinner until seven."

"It doesn't, but we have to have time for drinks. Besides, we have guests."

"Oh, well then you don't need us."

"Mom!" Rory chided.

"Kidding." Lorelai looked over to her mother who had a deep frown on her face. "So, who's the guest? Not the Pope, I hope. Oh, that rhymes."

"Lorelai really. Is it so bad to ask for one night? Just one night of being civilized?"

"Yes."

"Oh, you're hopeless."

"It's not like I haven't tried to tell you."

"Just come and meet our guests."

When Richard Gilmore saw his daughter and grand-daughter walk into the room he stood up and said, "Rory, Lorelai. I'm so glad you're here."

"Yes, well we wouldn't want to miss drinks. Speaking of, can I have a vodka on the rocks?"

"Natalia, would you mind?"

"Of course sir. I'll have that right away."

"Rory, would you like something?"

When Rory realized she had been asked a question, she tried to respond, but her voice squeaked. Lorelai turned to her daughter but quickly focused her attention on what Rory was looking at. "Tristan, what a.. surprise."

"Hello Lorelai. MRory."

"You've already met?"

Rory was finally able to speak up, "We go to school together."


	4. What's Missing?

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Gilmore Girls.

**What's Missing?**

Tristan stared at Rory in shock. He never thought that she was related to Richard and Emily Gilmore. Covering his surprise, Tristan smiled at Rory then said to the others in the room, "I'm also her tutor."

Emily returned to the room then and accusingly looked at Lorelai. "Why does she need a tutor? Rory is one of the brightest young women you could meet."

"It's for German, grandma. I'm having some trouble understanding the language so Tristan offered to help me." Rory looked over to Tristan and saw that he was having trouble keeping his sarcastic comments to himself.

Tristan noticed Rory scrutinizing him, and decided to prove her wrong. "Your grand-daughter is very smart, Mrs. Gilmore. In fact she's one of the smartest girls I ever met."

Emily was about to respond to Tristan when Natalia entered the room and informed everyone that supper was ready, and Emily did not want the food to suffer even one second of sitting on a table with no one to eat it. Or stare at it.

* * *

Rory stared at her plate as she listened to the conversations taking place at the table. She couldn't bring herself to look at Tristan. She had tried so hard to keep her grandparents a secret from everyone at Chilton, because she preferred being ignored by everyone who thought she was there on scholarship. She had seen the look of surprise on his face and it bothered her. Rory could feel his eyes on her, studying her. She knew if she looked him in the eye, he would be able to read her. She didn't want him to know she was embarrassed, although she suddenly realized her lack of eye contact must have already given it away.

"Rory," Emily interrupted her granddaughter's thoughts.

"I'm sorry, grandma, what?"

"Mrs. Dugrey asked you a question."

"I'm so sorry, I must have gotten distracted. What was your question Mrs. Dugrey?"

"I was just wondering if your tutoring sessions with my son are going well? Is he a good teacher?"

Rory looked at Tristan for the first time since they sat down for dinner. "Yes Mrs. Dugrey, he's a wonderful teacher. I've only had one session with him, but I think it went very well." As Tristan began to smirk, Rory blushed and turned away. She hated when he smirked. He always looked so full of himself. As much as Rory hated Tristan's smirk, she couldn't help glancing back at him and was surprised to see that a real smile had replaced it. Tristan quickly tried to cover his smile, but Rory was sure of what she had seen and gave him a quizzical look.

As the adults continued a steady conversation, Rory continued to glance at Tristan, while Tristan openly stared at Rory. She knew he was playing a game with her, just as he did with all of the other girls, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was different to him than the others. By the end of the meal she had decided that if she were different, Tristan would have stopped staring long ago. Rory vowed that this was one game Tristan would never win. She refused to be taken advantage of.

After the two families had finished dinner, they split into groups. The men went to smoke cigars and talk about business, while the women had coffee. Rory decided to escape questioning about her life and ended up on the back porch. It was a beautiful night and all the stars were out. Rory was studying the sky when she heard someone walk up behind her. She guessed who it was and said, "Do you have to follow me everywhere?"

"Are you sure you don't just anticipate my every move?" Tristan said, but under her withering gaze, smiled and said "I didn't know you were going to be out here. I'll go if you want." Rory turned away and when he didn't receive an answer, Tristan silently left her.

Rory was surprised to turn around and find that he had actually gone. 'Maybe I was wrong,' she thought to herself. She was even more surprised to find that she wished he had stayed. Rory remained on the porch for a few minutes, then decided to go find Tristan. 'He must still be outside. There's no way he would risk being pulled into a conversation with either of his parents. She walked around to find the door to her grandparent's pool house open, with Tristan watching TV inside. "How did you get in here?"

Tristan smirked, "Couldn't help but track me down, huh Mar?"

"Tristan."

"Calm down. Your grandfather wanted to show my father some gadgets or something, I wasn't really paying attention. He left the door unlocked when we left."

"Oh," Rory said dumbly. "So, umm, where's Alexa?"

"My mom didn't think she would be able to sit through the dinner, so she's at home with the nanny. She would have had fun with you though. She has been able to stop talking about you since she met you."

"Really?" Rory asked, surprised.

"As amazing as Alexa is, sometimes she doesn't get the attention she deserves. My parents are so busy during the day, and they don't like to have distractions at business functions, which they seem to have every night of the week. Usually when I bring girls over, they're more focused on.."

"Good excuse, Tristan," she cut in.

Tristan looked at Rory guiltily. "Everyone gets their priorities confused sometimes. I'm a guy, and.."

"If you say, you have needs, I'm going to have to throw up right now."

"Well then, I guess I'll stop talking."

"What exactly is it that you're looking for?"

"What do you mean?"

"What void are you trying to fill with all these girls? You date them and have sex with them.."

"I don't have sex with all of them."

"I'm not finished. For a few weeks everything is fine with you and some girl. You pretend like you care, but when you realize that yet again, the feeling just aren't real, you move on. What are you missing that you think can be found with this searching? I can promise, whatever it is, you won't find it this way."

Tristan stood there shocked, trying to absorb everything that Rory had just said. Was she right? 'No,' Tristan though, 'I'm just having a good time. This is what you're supposed to do when you're a teenager.' To Rory he said, "I get it. You're jealous, and you're trying to get me to try a serious relationship with you. Well, Mar, we can try. See if it works."

"Unbelievable." With that Rory turned on her heal and walked out of the pool house. She found herself back inside the house looking for her mother.

"Rory," Emily said when she saw her, "where have you been?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling well. I thought if I got some fresh air I would feel better, but I don't. Mom, is it alright if we go?"

Lorelai cheered inside and said, "Of course, sweetie. If you're not feeling well, it would be best if we get home."

Emily supported Lorelai's decision and said goodbye to her daughter and granddaughter.

* * *

Tristan sat in the pool house contemplating what Rory had said. He never expected her to say something like that. He knew that only someone who truly cared about him would call him on his "dating around". But he also knew that she was wrong. He wasn't looking for anything. He was just having a good time.. With a lot of different girls. "There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing." He said aloud.

"What is it that you are doing, and why is there nothing wrong with it?" Tristan heard his mother say.

"Oh, I was just talking to myself."

His mother saw that Tristan wasn't going to talk about whatever he had just meant, so she just said, "We're ready to leave."

Tristan followed his mother into the main house. "We had a wonderful time tonight, Richard. I hope your granddaughter feels better soon." Tristan heard his father saying.

"Thank you, Alan. I think it was a productive evening. I'm sure I will be seeing you soon." When Richard saw Tristan, he said, "It was nice seeing you again Tristan. You seem to have grown into a fine young man."

"Thank you Mr. Gilmore." Tristan said as he reverted back into his own thoughts.

A/N- I'm sorry it took me FOREVER to update. I was in London for school last semester with no way to update, and since I got back I was distracted with getting back into the groove of things. I won't make it a habit of waiting 7 months each time.


	5. Reflections

Disclaimer I own nothing.

**Reflections**

Lorelai glanced over at her daughter as she was driving home. "Fess us," she said. "What's really going on? 'Cause I know you're not sick."

Rory looked out the window as she answered her mother. "I really don't feel well, mom. You know I would just leave grandma and grandpa, especially when there were guests."

"Yes, I do know that. I just don't think the reason we left is the reason you claim it was." Lorelai paused for a few moments, then said, "So what did he do?"

"Who?" Rory asked innocently.

"The little bunny that lives in the backyard."

"He didn't do anything mom."

"Wait, there really is a bunny in the backyard?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom!"

"Sorry, just trying to make a little joke… tough crowd."

They sat in the car silently for the rest of the ride home. Lorelai knew that something had happened between her daughter and Tristan, but she decided to let it go for the time being.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

When they got home, Rory went straight to her room and laid down on her bed. Lorelai followed her in and said, "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Let's see… About my daughter, who all of a sudden decided to be a normal teenage girl."

"Mom, I told you, I'm sick. I just want to go to sleep."

"It's barely past nine o'clock on a Friday night. And don't you know what's on tv tonight? _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory._ How can you sleep through that?"

"I'm going to say this one more time, slowly. I'm. Sick."

"Fine. I'll go." Lorelai said, finally giving up. "But I still don't believe you."

Rory laid in her dark bedroom tossing and turning. All she wanted to do was fall asleep and escape her thoughts, but sleep would not take her. After a couple hours of trying, Rory got out of bed to go watch tv. She found her mother asleep on the couch in the living room. Rory lifted her mother's legs and sat down on the couch. She began to flip through the channels and woke Lorelai up.

"Hey sweets. Is it morning?"

"No, it's a little after midnight. I couldn't sleep."

"Still 'sick'?"

Rory started babbling, "I just… I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I shouldn't have said anything, but… I'm making no sense."

"No, no, you're making perfect sense. Well, no not really, but I did get that you said something you shouldn't have and… that's about it. Start from the beginning."

"He's just so cocky. He thinks every girl whom he crosses paths with is going fall in love with him. But I called him on it. I said he was looking for something more. And he thought I was trying… that I wanted…"

"He thought you meant you were the more?"

"I don't think he was serious. He's never serious, why would he choose to be now?"

"Then why are you so upset? You want to be his more?"

"No! I do not want to be his more. I just… I wish I could take the whole conversation back."

"Well, kid, you can't do that, but I promise, it's not the end of the world. In fact, I bet when you wake up in the morning it won't be so bad. Why don't you try to sleep again. And don't think so much this time."

"Thanks mom. I love you."

"Love you too, sweets."

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Rory walked into Chilton slowly on Monday morning, hoping that she wouldn't run into Tristan. She was not granted her wish. As usual, Tristan was making out with yet another girl in front of her locker. 'Thank God I have my literature book,' Rory thought to herself. She headed straight for class, instead of stopping by her locker. Since she had a little extra time, Rory opened a new book and began reading intently but was interrupted shortly after. "Mary, I didn't see you this morning."

"Well, I think you were a little preoccupied."

"Jealous Mar?"

"I'll never be jealous of a girl that gets used and thrown away." With that, Rory looked back at her book and made it clear the conversation was over.

Tristan stood by her desk stunned for a few seconds before he heard someone say, "I think that's your cue to sit down man." Tristan turned around to see his friend Jake behind him.

"Thanks," Tristan replied sarcastically, as he moved into an empty desk. After he sat down, he thought to himself, 'how does she _do_ that?'

Jake leaned over to talk to Tristan, but was cut off, "Don't even think about commenting, Jake. I don't wanna hear it."

"Hah, you know you can't shut everyone upAnd trust me. _Everyone_ will have a comment. By the way, the whole class is staring at you." With that, Jake leaned back into his seat.

Tristan didn't even look around the room, because he knew Jake was telling the truth, and he could hear his classmates whispering, most likely about what had just taken place. After a few moments of thinking, Tristan began to realize that this could work for him. 'Plenty of girls will probably feel bad that she said that in front of everyone. They'll try to make me feel better and…And what? I could have any one of them right now regardless of how Mary treats me.' Tristan's thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Towers entered the room and began class.

A/N- I really didn't want to post this yet, because I normally like to make the chapters a little longer, but I just hit a road block. Please please please give me some suggestions, because there is so much going on with school right now that I don't have time to rack my brain with ideas for this story.


	6. Discovery

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Gilmore Girls

**Surprises**

When school finished on that surprising day, Tristan found Rory at her locker.

"You ready?" Tristan asks, somewhat softly.

"Yeah," She replies in an even softer voice. They are both embarrassed about what happened in class that morning. They walk silently to the car. Rory walks slowly, because Tristan is again being stopped by every single girl, and some not so single girls, in the school. Rory waits patiently by the car as she watches Tristan make his way through the maze of primped, excited girls. She hears the car doors unlock as she see Tristan nod toward her, and she climbs into the empty seat.

When he finally makes it to the car, Tristan mumbles an apology and quickly starts the car. Before he is able to pull out of his parking spot, there is a knock at the window. Rory rolls her eyes in frustration and looks out her own window as Tristan rolls his down. "What can I do for you, Babe?"

"Wouldn't you rather be with me tonight?"

"Now that's not fair, Babe. I already explained to you that I promised to help Rory."

"That's never stopped you before. Besides, isn't Mary all smart or something?" She looks at Rory, "You're just trying to seduce him. I know it. You pretend not to be interested and you think he's going to just fall all over you."

"Are you worried, Babe?"

"About you?" she scoffs, "No."

"Well, then. I guess you'll see Tristan in the morning. Try to pick a locker other than mine, alright? Otherwise I might have reason to think you might have just lied."

"Ugh, Tristan, are you going to let her talk to me like that?"

"We really have to go, Baby. I'll see you later."

"When?"

"I don't know, later," Tristan says as he rolls up his window, cutting off Babe's next question, and finally backs out of his parking space. To Rory, he says, "You sure are on a roll today."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. It's not exactly normal." Tristan opens his mouth, but Rory cuts him off before he can speak. "Don't."

"Right. I wouldn't want to set you off again. Especially when you definitely don't have any feelings for me whatsoever." Rory holds her tongue and simply glares at Tristan. Tristan glances at her to see her death stare. "Sorry. It's a habit."

"I'd say you should work on that, but it seems most of your _girlfriends_ probably like it."

"I'm only like this with you."

"I feel so special."

"You are," Tristan accidentally lets slip, but covers it by smirking at Rory and blowing her a kiss. Rory then turns her attention back to the grass passing by outside the passenger window, and Tristan mentally smacks himself on the head.

Alexa is waiting for Tristan when he and Rory walk through the door. "Rory, you're back!" She yells.

"Hi Alexa. How are you?"

"I'm hungry."

"We were just going to get a snack," says Teresa. "but when she saw her big brother pull in, she just had to wait." The tone in her voice made it apparent to Rory that her feelings for Tristan were not good.

Alexa looks at Tristan then Rory, "Are you hungry?"

Rory answers first. "You know. I am starving. What are you having."

"Peanut butter and crackers."

"Mmm. Could we have some Tristan."

"Absolutely," he says as he runs towards his sister, picks her up, and begins running. "Follow us," he calls as Alexa screams gleefully.

Rory laughs and looks at Teresa to find nothing but a frown. "He may be a complete jerk, but he does care about her you know."

"He cares about her when it suits him," is her curt response.

Teresa leads Rory to the kitchen, then gets the peanut butter and crackers out of the pantry. She gives Rory and Tristan each knives and she begins fixing Alexa's herself.

"I want Rory to do that," Alexa says.

Teresa is taken aback, but relinquishes her role.

"You know, Teresa, you can actually take a thirty minute break if you want. We can take care of things here."

"Is that okay with you, Alexa?"

"Yeah," she says with a mouthful of peanut butter.

Teresa again looks stricken, but leaves the group alone in the kitchen. "I'll be back soon."

"Bye," Alexa says happily.

Rory feels slightly bad for Teresa but realizes Alexa's happiness at spending a half an hour with her brother is more important than Teresa's disdain at getting a free half an hour because the "estranged" brother suddenly has a little more time.

The three of them play happily as they chomp on their peanut butter crackers. By the end of the snack time Alexa is thoroughly covered in peanut butter. Rory laughs and helps Alexa wash her hands and face. Tristan takes this opportunity to study his sister and Rory, then decides to have some fun. He slowly sneaks up behind the laughing girls and then quickly grabs the hose extension from the sink and sprays them both with water. They scream and flee the scene and promptly run into Teresa.

"What do you think you're doing?" she screams.

All three of them look at Teresa guiltily. "Come on Alexa, let's get you cleaned up. You two should start studying." She says pointedly to Tristan and Rory.

Rory sees Tristan's jaw tense then start to open. She walked over to him quickly, grabbed his arm, and said loudly, "She's right. We should study." She then mutters, "It will only upset Alexa if you confront Teresa now."

When they get into the comfortable red den, Tristan begins to rant about Teresa. "Where does she get off? We were just having fun. A little water never hurt anyone."

"That's not true. It melted the Wicked Witch."

"Anyone real."

"Umm… what about people who drown?"

"I said a _little _water."

"You can drown in a little water."

"Has anyone ever told you you're infuriating?"

"I seem to be using that word myself more than I'm hearing it from other people lately."

Tristan nods and returns to the original subject. "She doesn't think I love my sister. She thinks I'm just trying to win you over."

"Can you think of any reason she might believe that?"

"What does that mean?"

"I'm just saying, she has seen you and how you act with your sister and with girls. She has probably seen your attitude change depending on the girl you're with. You've even admitted that you sometimes neglect Alexa in order to spend time with 'the ladies'".

"That doesn't mean I don't love her."

"I think Teresa is just trying to protect her. Plus, she has probably gotten a little territorial with her. It seems like she spends the most time with her, right?"

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"Nothing. I'm just trying to give you Teresa's point of view. I don't think she's trying to be mean. She loves that little girl too. All you have to do to win her over is prove that Alexa is more important than your girlfriends."

"Of course she's more important."

"Then let your actions say so."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"You're right. Let's just study." Rory says, giving up.

By seven o'clock, Rory is thoroughly frustrated.

"Okay, why don't we take a break now? You've been doing great."

"You call that great?"

"Well, no, not really. But I'm afraid if I don't give you a break, you're head might pop off. Plus, I'm a little worn out."

"Oh, well we can stop. You're the one doing me a favor here. We can stop anytime."

"No, let's just take a quick break. How about a walk? Then we can say good night to Alexa and get another hour in studying before I take you home."

"Are you sure? It seems like a lost cause."

"Nah, you're definitely not a lost cause. And yeah, I'm sure. Come on." He leads her to the back of his house where there is a beautiful sprawling garden.

"This is breathtaking."

"It's my mom's pride and joy."

"She did this?"

Tristan lets out a small laugh, "She approved this."

"Oh."

"Yeah, she's not much of a dirt and grit kind of girl."

"It's still gorgeous. I would be out here all the time if this was my house. I think I would just sit out here and read for hours."

"You can do that any time you want. You're welcome here."

Rory becomes flustered and struggles to find a response.

"Embarrassed?"

"No. Of course not. I'm just confused as to why you would want me here 'anytime' when you will either have another girl here or you'll be out with someone."

It is Tristan's turn to be silenced. "Embarrassed?"

"Nope."


	7. Shutting Down

-1Tristan lies in his bedroom that night, wondering how he let Rory Gilmore get under his skin. She was just supposed to be a challenge. He wasn't actually supposed to start caring about her. _I don't care about her, _he thought to himself. _This is all just because she is so different. Once I actually reel her in, this will all go away._ Tristan was surprised to find that he was sad to think what he was feeling for Rory might disappear if he won her over. He was even more surprised to realize that he would be the one hurting when all was said and done, not Rory. He pictured Rory's smiling face after he had splashed her with water that afternoon. Then he saw her smiling in the garden as she dreamt of sitting there on a warm day, reading a good book. He pictured himself sitting with her, stealing glances while her mind was in another world.

_Tristan runs his fingers across Rory knee. He then tickles her hand, lifts it to his lips, and places a soft kiss on it. _

"_You're trying to distract me."_

"_I'm succeeding. Come on. Would you rather get lost in a world that is contained within pages or live the dream?"_

"_Can't I have both?"_

"_Right now? I don't think so. You have to choose. It's me or the ink."_

"_That's really sad. You'll come back tomorrow though, right?"_

_Tristan grabs Rory around the waist and lifts her off the chair the have been sitting on. He then place her on the ground and tickles her until she cannot take it anymore._

"_Stop, please." She laugh as tears run down her face. "Please Tris, I can't take it anymore."_

"_No? Well then, I guess you'll just have to give me something in return."_

_She smiles up at him and runs her hand under his shirt to softly graze his bare skin with her soft hand. He lets out a small groan as a shiver runs down his spine. He slowly brought his head down so his lips could brush against hers. _

This daydream is nothing like what he normally imagined when he thought about a girl. Usually he just ripped their clothes off. Tristan became terrified at the thought that a girl might actually be able to control him in any way. It was not at all what he wanted. _This has to end. Tomorrow, I'll just tell her I don't have time to tutor her anymore. _Tristan tosses and turns as he tries to figure out how he got in too deep with this girl he barely even knew.

Rory is also lying in bed, but she is sleeping soundly. A smile forms on her face as she rolls onto her back.

_Rory is walking through the gardens Tristan introduced her to earlier that day. She has a content smile on her face as she bends down to smell the roses and gardenias. She closes her eyes as she takes in the magnificent scents. When she stands up straight and opens her eyes, she sees Tristan waiting for her in a brilliant, white gazebo with a broad smile on his face. She walks toward him and the wind blows her long white dress against her bare legs. When she reaches him, Rory lifts her hand to caress his cheek. Her eyes meet his gaze, and she pulls his head down to hers until their lips meet. _

_She wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his chest. She feels Tristan kiss the top of her head and run his hand through her hair. _

_Suddenly, Rory and Tristan are dancing across the garden to Liszt's Lieberstraum. _

Rory suddenly jerks herself awake, taken aback by her unexpected dream and her even more unexpected sadness that she had to tear herself away from it. Rory rolls over onto her side, pushes all thoughts from her head, and falls back asleep.

"Morning Luke," Rory says as she walks into the diner the next morning.

"Morning, Rory. Where's your mom?"

"Oh, she got distracted by the juggler."

"The what?"

"The juggler. He's right outside. See?" She leans toward the window and points to her left.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Luke says and heads for the door.

"Wait, can't I have some…" She stops when Luke starts yelling at the juggler stationed outside his diner. Rory helps herself to some coffee and donuts and puts $2.00 on the counter. She steps back out onto the sidewalk and says, "Okay, mom. I'm ready."

"You didn't get me any coffee?"

"I only have so many hands. It's not my fault you went into a daze. Chop chop."

"Just a sec," she calls before running through the doorway and grabbing a cup of coffee herself.

"What does this look like, McDonalds?"

"Oh, absolutely not. They're nicer at McDonald's. And they don't kick Ronald McDonald out when he starts doing tricks."

"Just go."

"See you later, Lukey D."

"I thought this was nothing like McDonalds."

"I said Lukey, not Mickey."

"Yeah, yeah."

Lorelei opens her mouth to continue torturing Luke, but Rory jumps in. "Are you really going to drive me to school, or should I try to run and catch the bus?"

"No, no. I want to hear about yesterday's _tutor session._ You have had a funny look about you my sweet child, and I am dying to find out why."

"What?" Luke asks with a confused look.

"You wouldn't understand. We'll leave you be now."

"If only."

"You love us Luke." He rolls his eyes as the aggravating mother and daughter walk away, but Lorelei catches him smiling. "I saw that," she calls to him, and he curses under his breath.

After they get situated in the car, Lorelei begins her interrogation. "So, what happened."

"We studied."

"Yes, and that is why you actually came home with a smile last night."

"What's wrong with smiling?"

"Absolutely nothing. What's wrong with sharing a good story with your dear mother?"

"We had a snack with his little sister. Then we studied. Then we took a break. Then we studied some more. THEN, he took me home."

"What happened during the break?"

"What?"

"Well, snacking I get, studying I get, driving home I get, but breaking? What's that?"

"We took a walk. It was no different than the studying and snacking and driving. We insulted each other."

"And that made you smile."

"Mom."

"Daughter."

"I embarrassed him."

"Ooh. You embarrassed the all powerful and in control pretty boy?"

"Yep."

"And you realized he was actually human. And incredibly hot?"

"NO!"

"Oh, of course not. I have no idea what I was thinking. I must have imagined that goofy smile. You know, the kind that says, I can't wait to see the man of my dreams again."

"Oh come on. The man of my dreams? Now I know you imagined it."

"Perhaps," Lorelei says with a knowing smile. "But if I'm right, remember to use protection."

"MOM!"

"Kidding. I know you would never forget something so important."

"You're such a teenager."

"Right back at ya."

"It's not an insult when you're actually talking to a teenager."

"Oh."

They arrive at Chilton at the same time Tristan is walking to the main entrance. Rory steps out of her mother's car and flashes him a smile before saying hello. Tristan gives her a quick nod without smiling and continues walking. He stops when Babe runs up behind him, then he pulls her into a deep kiss.

"See?" she whispers to her mom. "Definitely not 'man of your dreams' worthy."

Rory struggles to hide her disappointment from her mom. Lorelei can see right through her, but knowsthat it is not the time to push her. Instead, she plays along with her daughter.

"I guess not. I was getting such high hopes for him too. I'll make sure to cross him off my list." She then points a random boy. "Why don't you wrangle that one in."

"Bye mom."

"Really. Have him come to Friday night dinner. It'll be great."

"Bye."

"Party pooper."

"You just dropped me off at school."

"You love school."

"How do we ever know what we're actually talking about?"

"Does it matter?"

"I have to go."

"I was serious about the Friday night dinner thing."

"It's not happening. Bye."

Lorelei mutters something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Love you."

Rory was surprised when Tristan did not hassle her about what had happened when they arrived at school. She is even more surprised when he does not even look at her during class. Finally, after lunch, she decides to approach him herself.

"Hey, Tristan."

He turns around, surprise showing on his face. "Oh, hi."

"Is something wrong?"

"Nope."

"Okay, well I was wondering if we could get together on Wednesday or Thursday."

"I'm not really into dating you," he says harshly

Rory feels her cheeks begin to burn. "I meant for German."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I don't think I can help you out anymore. I just don't have the time. And it's not right for me to do something that obviously upsets Babe."

"Right. Because you two are so in love."

Tristan now turns red with anger. He is glad to feel something other than the rosy feelings that seem to have clouded his mind for the past few days, and uses it to fuel his break from Rory. "You have no idea what my relationship with Babe is like."

"So now it's a relationship?"

Tristan feels a pang when he hears the hurt in her voice at the way she has just been spoken to. He has never seen her face look as stricken as it does now. It has suddenly gone from red to white. He mentally shakes the regret from his body and formulates a response.

"You know, it's really none of your business. I can't help you anymore. I know you were starting to like it, so it's probably good that I keep you from falling for me."

"You are so full of yourself. Trust me. You are NOT the guy for me. You are egotistical,"

"Spare me. Bye Mary."

Rory screams on the inside as he walks away. "How does he _do_ that?" she mutters to herself.

As Rory sits in study hall that afternoon, she lets her mind wander to what happened in the hallway with Tristan at lunchtime. For the first time, she cannot pinpoint why she is uncomfortable with his reaction to her. She continually replays his words and gestures in her mind. She pictures the look on his face as he delivers his blows. He did not have his trademark smirk. It was instead replaced by a pained expression. He did not want to say the things he did. It did not seem like he wanted to hurt her. But for some reason, he seemed to think he had to. Rory could not grasp why Tristan had acted the way he had or why he suddenly could not tutor her anymore, especially when he was the one who had encouraged her to utilize her help. He had almost pursued her as if he were the one who needed the help. Finally, confused and frustrated, Rory decides to stop trying to figure out Tristan Dugrey and directs her energy toward being angry with him, instead.

Rory and Tristan continue to avoid or ignore each other for the remainder of the day, though neither can get the other from his/her mind.

Tristan is disappointed that Rory does not try to find out what has happened or why he suddenly refuses to work with her on her German assignments. When he leaves school for the day, he walks quickly from the building and ignores most of the usual people who try to get his attention. He finds Babe waiting at his car.

"Hey there sugar. Want to go hang out?"

"Sure. Hop in."

Tristan glances up to see Rory watching him with a hard look on her face and feels a slight twinge, and then he peels out of the parking lot, ready to erase her from his thoughts.

Rory stomps into her house and slams the door before she walks to her bedroom.

"Whoa. What's going on?" Lorelei calls from the kitchen.

"Sorry."

"You know, these one-word answers are becoming more and more frequent."

Rory sits quietly for a moment, contemplating what to tell her mother. "I thought Tristan was actually growing up. That he was starting to open up to me. Now he's worse than ever."

"How so?"

"He refuses to tutor me. He says it's for my own good, so I won't fall for him. He basically ignored me all day today."

"Oh, I see. He's playing hard to get."

Rory laughs, "Tristan Dugrey does not play hard to get."

"A couple of weeks ago you would have jumped for joy if he just left you alone. And this morning you said he was not 'the one worthy.' So what's the problem?"

"Well… he may not have been 'the one worthy' but he had friend potential. I just can't believe it means nothing to him. We really started to have fun. That's all."

"I'm sorry. I know it stinks to have the door shut in your face. Focus on the kids who are mature enough to handle real human emotion."

"Thanks, mom."

"Anytime. I like it when you actually let me in."

"I wasn't shutting you out."

"I know that. You just haven't been telling me everything. But maybe I'm not the only one you're hiding something from." Upon receiving a quizzical look from Rory, she responds, "You'll see." Lorelei then gets a bright smile on her face. "You want Chinese for dinner? I've been craving it all day."

"Sure. Why not? Don't forget the fried wantons."

Lorelei gasps, "How dare you imply I would ever forget one of the four Chinese food musts!"

"Okay, get _extra_ fried wantons. I need them tonight."

"Sure, kiddo."

"Where are we going?" Babe asks Tristan.

"I'm taking you home."

"My parents are home already. We should go to your place."

"I'm dropping you off at home, Babe. Then I'm going home. Alone."

"But I thought we were gonna have fun."

"I changed my mind."

"What's up with you lately? You never have time for me anymore. It's not like I've ever asked for any sort of commitment from you. And I always give you good…"

"Seriously, Babe. Just drop it. I'm not interested anymore. It was nice while it lasted."

"She broke you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mary. She got you to want more. It's almost unbelievable."

"It is unbelievable. I don't have a clue what you're talking about. I'm not broken, Babe. I'm just not interested in _you_ anymore. It happens all the time. Ask Heather or Kelly or Jenn."

"You broke up with Heather and Kelly and Jenn because they each wanted an exclusive relationship. You and I have been together through all of those 'relationships'. So Mary… Mary is different."

Tristan pulls up in front of Babe's ornate house. "Get out."

"You're only going to end up with a broken heart."

"No, I'm not. Because I'm not going after Rory."

"Mmmhmm. Whatever you say lover boy." Babe hops out of the car and skips up the walkway to her front door.


End file.
